Background: Socio-economic status (SES) is one of the fundamental factors that influence educational performance, more prominent in rural and semi-urban areas in India. Osmanabad is a drought-prone district of Maharashtra, an interesting setting to explore impact of SES on school students’ academic achievement and aspirations. Educationally, the socio-economic profile of the district, characterized by subsistence farming as the dominant livelihood, uneven infrastructural development, and scant access to quality education, constitutes plausible ground for investigating educational inequality. Objectives: Aim of the Study. The investigation was undertaken to examine the effect of SES on the academic achievement and career aspirations of students in Osmanabad. To meet this need, this study addressed the following questions: What is the relationship between SES and student academic performance? How does SES influence students’ educational expectations, and what role does gender and geography play in the relationship between SES and student academic performance? Methods: A mixed approaches design was used, utilising quantitative evidence, structured interviews, and qualitative information from semi-structured interviews. The sample comprised 80 secondary students selected through stratified random sampling from government and private schools of both rural and urban areas. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation were applied to quantitative data, which were managed utilizing IBM’s SPSS, and qualitative responses were entered. Results: The findings indicated a strong, significant relationship between SES and academic success and a moderate relationship between SES and aspirations. High-SES students regularly outperformed their peers and were motivated to aim for professional careers, whereas low-SES students in low-SES households were generally inclined to follow vocational paths because of economic and social limitations. Gender and rural-urban gaps exacerbated these imbalances. Conclusion: The research finds that SES strongly patterns both academic achievement and aspirations. To rectify these inequities, targeted, context-specific interventions — such as financial support, mentorship, and involvement in the community — should be implemented to give underrepresented students from all backgrounds the chance to succeed.